Dedicated Moxon joinery bench

[David Kelsey]

pre-carve moxon.jpg
moxon bench.jpg
milling moxon.jpg
So, I finally made a tall joinery bench with the bench crafted Moxon vise.

I included the parts after milling because that is how my shop looks before a project and usually every day.

The top is soft maple and the base and two side pieces of the top are ebonized ash. It includes a tool slot and tool tray in the rear. All from 8/4 stock.

I broke down and tried the lambs tongue and enjoyed that. Needless to say it went much better than I had thought and quicker too. I have since carved my name and date into the moving jaw.

moxon nut.jpg
moxon top w: tray.jpg
The pics for the dovetails don't want to load for some reason. Just being a PITA like chopping them out. I have done dovetails before but never in 8/4 and that was a lesson. It took much, much longer to complete than I ever thought it would've. I cheated and used the bandsaw for the tail boards and chopped after that and on the second joint I went to a power assist and drilled out a bunch of wast to ease up on the chopping duty. It felt wrong and right at the same time.

[David Kelsey]

moxon front leg.jpg
The dovetailed perimeter is 5 1/2" and served as the fixed jaw in front, front and side stretchers and tool gap on the left side. This is a front leg getting its final fit.
moxon with legs.jpg
The feet are my first attempt at double M&T and I like them. It was a learning experience. But the joints are tight. I pegged them also, so they should last a while.
I dovetailed in a rear stretcher with half blinds between the rear legs because the perimeter box doesn't get used in the rear. Then added 2 cross pieces between the feet and between the legs front to back. A tool chest will eventually get placed under the bench, I need to use it for a couple of months to learn what the chest will be used for and how much space under the bench I need for holdfasts/clamping/storage shelf etc...

After the top was done it was clamped to my bench and used to complete the base. The added height was nice and the vise held while I was beating on it.

moxon unfinished.jpg
I used a chamfer bit on the front legs to add detail and chickened out of the lambs tongue here. There is a lot of space for a tool chest/storage.
Then I used black dye X two coats and one of spanish oak stain to ebonize the ash...more for curiosity than thinking it needed to be done. In this case it definitely wasn't needed but I found that I certainly can use this in the future.

What caused me to make the lambs tongue on the jaw was a guy named Luke on lumber jocks. He made it so easy I had to try and it was really painless, not to mention my favorite part of the bench.


The bench is just below my elbow and about 35"wide X 24"deep. I am taking my 12y/o down there now to use it. Still testing the height because I didn't glue the top on to the base yet incase it is 2" too tall. I like it so far and I can saw on it upright. The fact that it holds tools in the gap and the tray are a plus too. For the Bench itself I don't think I care for the black base yet but I may make the tool chest out of poplar and paint it OD green instead of cherry. I don't know.

Thanks,
-David

[Jim Becker]

I can see how valuable that type of bench can be for someone doing a lot of hand-cut joinery with comfort. Very nice project!

[Tom Bain]

Very nice David. I've thought about doing something similar with my veritas twin screw whenever I re-do my bench. Just curious if you thougt about doing a bench-top Moxon versus the dedicated approach you built?

[David Kelsey]

Thanks,

Tom,

I have used the bench two ways so far. I used the top clamped to my regular bench as a bench top moxon and liked it. That is how I fine tuned the joinery for the base. I have also used the bench over the weekend for some dovetails. Having either is great. My preference so far is the bench for these reasons:
1. height. using the saw while standing upright is very nice on the body. (the reason I built it)
2. always available. It is small enough to have next to my reg. bench and I don't need to set it up or pick it up.
3. the bench behind the vise came in handy for laying out the pin boards (and holding more stuff)
4. The tool gap is more useful than I thought it would have been. I think I am going to hang tools on the side of the bench too.
5. I was going to build a tool chest anyway....this is a 2 for 1 use of space.

Like everything else in a shop it is a personal thing, this is my $0.02.

The thought of a twin screw or chain drive came up and still comes up in my head. My first thought would be the size and weight of it. In a bench it would be great but for a bench top accessory it might collect dust.

[Prashun Patel]

Really nice. I have a less sophisticated 'bench on bench' for some joinery. You may consider eventually adding some dog holes for holdfasts and stops. I find this quite useful for chopping and paring tasks. YMMV.

[Tom Bain]

David -- all good points, and having a dedicated bench at the optimal height for joinery work has got to be nice. How is the mass/stability when you are working at it? The one benefit I would see to the bench top approach is having it coupled to a much larger and beefier workbench that would be less prone to any unwanted movement. Of course then I have to figure out where to store it and set-up/tear-down issues.

[David Kelsey]

For the stability, I haven't had an issue yet. All I have made on it is a tissue box cover and that was only because I felt the need to test out some dovetails. The only issue I have come across is.....I need a holdfast or two. I had to clamp on the side with isn't bad but I left the top whole so I could, if needed add them where I felt the need. I have seen pics where only two holes are drilled and they allow almost all of the bench to be covered by the holdfasts. If stability does become an issue i would add tools or sand bags at the bottom. It wouldn't take much. When I get the tool chest built, there will be no need.

The height is very nice and the lambs tongue, or the space between them, is perfect for placing my left hand while aligning the saw and while using the saw.

I am thinking about the Veritas twist/knob type of holdfasts. Pro's/cons???

[Prashun Patel]

I have one of the Veritas holdfasts and a couple of grammercy holdfasts. At first I preferred the Veritas, but lately I prefer the traditional style.

The Veritas works as advertised, but you do have to tighten and untighten the knob with a little force. That can get fatiguing if you are constantly positioning and repositioning work. Also, the Veritas post is threaded. I suppose this does assist with holding, but it also makes it slightly slower to remove the post from the hole.

The traditional ones are so fast and convenient. If you don't mind keeping a mallet handy and the noise, they are IMHO quicker and less fatiguing to use.

These are nitpicks. I think both work fine. But at the margin, I find the traditional style more convenient.

[Jim Becker]

I think my hold-fasts are the Gramercy version...not sure...I bought them so long ago and am actually sad I only have two. They are extremely useful, even for non-hand-tool operations!

[John Sanford]

Looks very nice, one of those is constantly attempting to land on my To-Do list. A suggestion regarding the tool cabinet.

Consider incorporating your sharpening setup into the cabinet. It could either be stowed in a drawer, be on a pullout, etc. A lot depends on how you go about sharpening and how that influences the best height for doing so.

[David Utterback]

Great bench. After reading this post, I bought a couple of Gramercy hold fasts. They operate so easily and hold materials well. They are the best bench clamps I have used and cost only $20 each.

[David Kelsey]

I also bought a pair of gramercy hold fasts. Very nice and easy. A must have now that I have used them.

[John Petsche]

Great bench build. Looks awesome!

[Prashun Patel]

I think i'm most impressed by the neat color transition on the dovetails. Very nice bench! I'm cutting some dt's right now, and would have appreciated this.